A COUNCILLOR has expressed fears that Atherton Library will suffer when it is moved to a new community hub.

Independent Atherton councillor Jamie Hodgkinson said he fears the service will get less visitors when it is moved to Atherton Town Hall, which is being transformed into a community hub.

His fears come after long spanning concerns by Atherton Library Support Group, who have campaigned to save the library, in its purposely-built building in York Street, for the past four years.

Cllr Hodgkinson said: “The library will be a lot smaller than it is now, which will reduce its footfall.

“There will be a lot less books on display and people will have to order online.

He added that it has been a struggle to maintain the service since its opening hours were changed to just 18 hours per week, with no weekend or evening access.

He added: “It’s been a struggle to get people using it and to keep the numbers up, but it is doing okay, as we have many groups using it.

“Why fix something that is not broken?”

Details of when the move of services to Atherton Town Hall will take place are yet to be finalised.

While Cllr Hodgkinson said he agrees with bringing services together, he does not think it will work for the library.

He said: “This will affect the service for people in Atherton as lots of people still don’t have computers and internet.”

“The computers in the library are heavily used and if the books are not on display, will people order them?

“I agree about services being together, but why move a library that is in a purpose-built building?”

The council said that in 2016-17 alone they have to save £15.5 million and has pledged to reduce spending money on costly buildings by reducing the number it runs as well as redesigning services to match the needs of each community.